TOLL GATES: FG APPROVES POLICY, RELEASES FEES TO BE PAID BY VEHICLE OWNERS
By: Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.
The Federal Government has approved a Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy and Regulations, presidential aide, Tolu Ogunlesi has said.
According to Ogunlesi, who is a Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, the government made the decision on Wednesday at a Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja. In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, he quoted the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to have said that the regulations were developed after extensive consultations with various stakeholders within and outside the government, including transport unions like National Union of Road Transport Workers, Road Transport Employers’ Association Of Nigeria, amongst others. He listed the recommended tolling fees in the approved policy and regulations to include “Cars: N200; SUVs: N300; Private Buses: N300; Commercial Buses: N150; Luxury Buses and Trucks: N500”.
The statement listed highlights of the new Federal Tolling Policy as follows:
“It will be an Open Tolling system (just like the one that used to be in existence in the country), instead of a Closed Tolling system. (A Closed Tolling system means that you pay per distance traveled (‘distance-dependent’), while Open Tolling means you pay a fixed/flat rate that is not dependent on distance traveled). “Toll Revenues will be used to maintain the roads and also to repay investors who have invested in building or completing a road under the Highway Development Management Initiative. “Electronic Toll Collection and Management systems will be prioritized over Cash systems. “People who live around Toll Plaza Areas will benefit from what is called ‘Frequent User’ discounts, in line with global best practice”.
The planned reintroduction of tollgates is coming 18 years after the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo dismantled all toll plazas on federal roads throughout the country in 2003. Toll-gating facilities are typically road infrastructures for the main purpose of revenue generation for effective and efficient maintenance of the road. Thus, toll-gating normally allows revenue and investments to be made without placing significant additional pressure on the government budget. However, perennial issues of mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds are paramount concerns as revenue generated from toll-gating may not be effectively utilized to provide social amenities. Also, there is the issue that tollgates will further increase the money spent on transportation, particularly, considering the fact that there is so much poverty in the country, thus toll-gating may further impoverish ordinary Nigerians. Indeed, definitive decisions regarding the economic impacts of toll-gating should be critically considered by the government so that palliatives may be put in place to subsidize its detrimental effects.
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